Some states have implemented mental health education in their schools’ curriculum, but not all states have. This isn’t something that should be controversial. Students, from a young age, need to learn about their mental health. We teach them about physical health, so why not mental health? They are both important. Obviously, you will not be teaching kindergarteners the same things you will be teaching high schoolers. Education is relative and the material should be adjusted for the age group being taught. We need to teach students about how to keep their bodies safe and healthy, but also their minds. Here are three ways we can do that:
-
We need to teach students how to ask for help when they need it
Asking for help is important to teach any student. We teach them to raise their hand when they need help on a math problem or are stuck on a word they can’t quite pronounce. We need to start teaching children to ask for help outside of the classroom. Maybe they have a question on how to handle a certain situation, or maybe they don’t know how to handle their emotions. These are all things we can teach our students to ask for help with.
-
We need to teach students about healthy communication
Communication is key in every aspect of life, and with any age group. This is something that our students will use every day for the rest of their lives. Teaching students about effective communication can include teaching them to tell an adult when they are feeling sad or if they see a peer being bullied. Healthy and successful communication takes practice. It’s necessary to teach them that it won’t come on the first try.
-
We need to teach students about bullying and cyberbullying
Bullying has been around for as long as we can remember. What’s becoming increasingly prevalent as time goes on is cyberbullying. We need to teach our children that any form of bullying is never okay. Once children are taught these first two mental health techniques, they will be able to ask for help and communicate effectively with a trusted adult when they see someone around them being the victim of bullying. Another reason we need to talk about bullying with students is because of the trend in increased self-injury and suicide rates among students. These things go together and we need to do our best to teach students about bullying, self-injury, and suicide prevention.
Pinnacle Recovery wants to be here for you. If you need more information about speaking to students about mental health, or if you need mental health help yourself, call us today at 1-866-301-0573. We can’t wait to hear from you!